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Cisco Enterprise Routers vs MikroTik Cloud Router Switch comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 29, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Enterprise Routers
Ranking in Routers
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
112
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch
Ranking in Routers
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (17th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Routers category, the mindshare of Cisco Enterprise Routers is 15.6%, down from 19.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is 8.0%, up from 7.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Routers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Enterprise Routers15.6%
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch8.0%
Other76.4%
Routers
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2759889 - PeerSpot reviewer
Pre-Sales Technical Specialist at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Has supported robust enterprise deployments and management while pricing and market reach for advanced features need attention
I'm not sure what improvements could be made on the configuration scale since I'm not involved in complete configuration. Currently, it works effectively and they are incorporating AI adoption. Commercially and financially, the pricing is too high. Customers feel that Cisco Enterprise Routers will not offer the most competitive prices. If they can work on pricing, it would be easier for customers who are considering local products. In India, the government has implemented the Make in India initiative, and Cisco has established a manufacturing unit there. Regarding security products, they need to improve market reach, marketing, and training. While Cisco Enterprise Routers are user-friendly for network and wireless platforms, security product configuration and integration are considered complex compared to FortiGate, Check Point, Sophos, and Palo Alto. They have introduced solutions such as Cloud Defense Orchestrator and Firewall Manager (FMC), but the reach of Cisco security products in India needs improvement.
Andriejus Artamonovas - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Specialist at a outsourcing company with 501-1,000 employees
Has supported deeper configuration through traffic mirroring and advanced VLAN setup
The main reason why MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is usually chosen is its raw performance to price ratio. In comparison to UniFi switches, MikroTik Cloud Router Switch can mirror all ports for traffic inspection for further traffic analysis, which UniFi cannot do. VLANs in MikroTik Cloud Router Switch are always useful. The way MikroTik implements VLAN-aware switching at the bridge level is hidden in the configuration. Making CRS work as a simple VLAN-aware switch requires deeper configuration, which is not intuitive. VLANs support individual interfaces not part of the bridge, allowing for double VLANing. You can create a VLAN interface in the interfaces context and also create a bridge interface, add physical ports, create VLANs for that bridge interface, and assign tagged and untagged ports and VLANs. Load balancing is one of the key components. The feature itself is quite efficient and works reliably on MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. The very basic setup is one of my favorites because they have their protocol where I can connect through the MAC address right on Layer 2, and I don't lose connectivity to the switch if I mess up with bridging or IP addressing.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable features are that it is more secure and easy to operate."
"The features of Cisco Enterprise Routers that I find most useful for my networking are the enterprise routing capabilities."
"The feature that I have found most valuable is its ability to implement layer three protocols and layer two protocols like OSPS in BSS and BSC environments, with the Nexus Cisco 7000."
"Cisco partnering with our government was very important because it motivated us to learn the solution, expand our portfolio, and move technology forward while serving as expert technicians for deployments and maintenance."
"The stability of the solution's router is its most valuable feature."
"We have found the technology to be excellent. It provides a lot of services."
"Our customers have seen return on investment and value for money since implementing Cisco Enterprise Routers, and they have been using Cisco equipment for a long period and continue to return to Cisco for replacement technologies and everything else, so they are happy with Cisco equipment."
"The solution is easily scalable."
"This solution has improved a great deal over time and in many domains."
"There are a lot of features to control permitting or stopping packets in the network."
"The simplicity of how one can set it up is the most valuable aspect."
"I think that Mikrotik is the best solution for SOHO and small businesses because the price is very good and it includes a lot of features."
"The wiki page that describes the scripting and other features is very good."
"The GUI is easy to use."
"The best aspect is that it remains affordable."
"The most valuable feature is that it has better throughput than its competitors."
 

Cons

"While scalability is available, it must be paid for. The licensing and price could be improved as the equipment purchased may come with very basic commands that require the consumer to pay for a more expensive license for a greater array of functions."
"The automation capabilities need improvement."
"While the hardware is good, it doesn't offer very easy scalability and lacks decent automation capabilities."
"The price has room for improvement."
"The pricing is a huge issue. I had to convince my company to purchase this solution. It is very expensive, and prohibitive."
"While scalability is available, it must be paid for."
"Performance is one area that could be improved. The stability of the devices is great, but performance-wise we find that upgrading the memory or changing the device entirely is sometimes necessary."
"The product would be more scalable if it could operate with other brands."
"There has to be more development in the OS. It's complex for this switch as compared to others like Cisco. For NetGear and Cisco, it's easy to adapt the VLAN concept but it should be simplified for MikroTik."
"MikroTik Cloud Router Switch needs improvement in the area of security, although the recent models are addressing this."
"MikroTik needs to add some features like IPS, mail security, or antivirus, et cetera."
"Most of the time, the MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is stable. If I were to rate the stability on a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is the best, I would give it a 5."
"The initial setup is complex."
"The bulk efficiencies and the control of traffic could be a bit better."
"It happens that you may find your network is down, if you reboot the switch, they come up. However, sometimes, they reset themselves. That's a big issue."
"Technical support needs to be faster and more knowledgeable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If Cisco Enterprise Routers could be less expensive it would be better. In Turkey, clients prefer cheap solutions, but working solutions."
"The price is very high."
"It's not probably the best solution if you have a very limited budget, as it can become very expensive to have robust equipment."
"Cisco routers are an expensive product."
"The price is reasonable."
"This solution is expensive compared to competitors. There are additional costs if you want to have their support."
"I believe licensing fees are paid once per year."
"I rate the product's price a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"I consider it to be a cost-effective solution."
"I believe the price of the tool is high, but it is okay for the services we get from it."
"They came with the licensing when we purchased them."
"The price of the solution is fair and there is a one-time license purchase only."
"This product has a one-time cost and there is no licensing fee."
"The licensing for MikroTik is great. It's easy to enter, especially for small businesses. Their model is great."
"In Pakistan, if you buy this cloud router, it's approximately $700 for the device."
"The price is competitive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Educational Organization
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business47
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise44
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

How do Cisco Enterprise routers compare with Mikrotik routers and switches?
Cisco Enterprise Routers are very stable and easy to use. They offer a very solid performance and are very secure. They also have a very good, long lifespan. We feel the command configuration is ve...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Enterprise Routers?
It is expensive, but I am not the person purchasing the products; I just handle the configuration.
What needs improvement with Cisco Enterprise Routers?
I think Cisco can make better improvements for routers in terms of the selling bit, when it comes to discounts. If you are a partner and you're not up there, your discount is not that good. So you'...
What needs improvement with MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
It can be difficult to identify key functions for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. I experience functionality limitations, particularly when trying to find specific features. It would be beneficial to...
What is your primary use case for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
I mostly work with network equipment now, focusing mainly on routers. I work with FortiGates and MikroTik routers. When referring to FortiGate routers, I mean the firewalls, but not the enterprise-...
 

Also Known As

No data available
MikroTik CRS Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, Boingo, Chartwell School, Children's Hospital of Orange County , Department of Justice, Explorer Pipeline, Linz AG, National Rugby League, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Telecom Italia, Transwestern
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Enterprise Routers vs. MikroTik Cloud Router Switch and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.